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Vietnam

Hi All
We are looking at a holiday in Vietnam - 12 days ( inclusive of flying in n out) .....
1. Is it easy to do it on our own? or should we be taking a package tour.
2. Which places would be best - in terms of heritage n culture n natural beauty?

Agree that it is easy to arrange on your own. Lots of discount booking sites for hotels and airlines can be booked online. That said since it was the end of a nine week trip, i ended up working with Tonkin just because i was tired of researching and booking. they were very easy to deal with. Had great suggestions and were very responsive

yes, VN includes 3 regions North, central, South. Everywhere also has theirs history. If you want to experience natural beautiful landscapes, you can visit to Da lat, Nha Trang, Mui Ne, etc. Besides that, you can go to Ho Chi Minh city, Hue, Ha Noi to enjoy Vietnamese heritage and culture. If you go to HCM city , Huế, Hà nội, you don't need to take package tour. you just take a map. Have a good trip. ^^

With 12 days to play with I would stick to one region, probably the north in order to avoid spending to much time travelling between locations.. Hanoi will provide the best insight into the culture and heritage of Vietnam. Allow 4-5 days to really see the city.

For natural beauty the Mai Chau valley is only a few hours drive away and is a great place to experience a taste of rural Vietnam. Further away, usually an overnight train journey, is Sapa and its environs best for a min of two nights to see the valley, it's villages and markets. Ba Be lakes is also very beautiful but is a very long drive from Hanoi but the home stays there are a rewarding experience if you don't mid giving up on a few comforts.

AGree with crellston re Mai Chau -- a lovely area that is close to Hanoi and avoids an overnight train back and forth to Sapa. Great alternative if you want to save a day or two.
I used dgunbug's wonderful notes and they were very helpful both planning and on the trip itself.

Probably about six months. However I doubt we had to make them so far in advance. The hotel was not full. I don't remeber the cancellation policy for Mai Chau. we paid for multiple parts of the trip to Tonkin.